Rays Free Agent Pitcher Agrees to Two-Year, $22 Million Deal With Giants

The San Francisco Giants have snagged a free agent pitcher from the Tampa Bay Rays, agreeing to a multi-year deal.

Jul 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; A view of a San Francisco Giants baseball hat and glove during the game between the Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Rangers defeated the Giants 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays came into the MLB offseason with only one Major League free agent from their 2025 roster hitting the market: starting pitcher Adrian Houser.

A solid backend of the rotation innings eater, the Rays were reportedly interested in bringing him back into the fold. He wasn’t expected to cost too much, projected to land a one-year deal worth $4 million, a price even Tampa Bay could afford.

Alas, Houser’s market ended up being much stronger than anyone anticipated. All it takes is one team to make an offer to blow everyone else away, and that seems to be what the San Francisco Giants did.

According to MLB insider Jeff Passan of ESPN, the National League West contenders and the veteran righty agreed to a two-year, $22 million deal, blowing away projections from earlier in the offseason. The deal includes a club option that could make this a three-year deal.

Giants make shrewd move signing Adrian Houser

Sep 20, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Adrian Houser (37) throws a pitch against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Giants needed some experienced rotation help behind their strong trio of Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Landen Roupp, especially with Justin Verlander hitting free agency. Houser provides that, along with some insurance in case youngsters such as Hayden Birdsong, Carson Whisenhunt and Blade Tidwell aren’t ready for full-time roles.

Right-hander Adrian Houser and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a two-year, $22 million contract with a club option for a third year, sources tell ESPN. Between the signing of Jason Foley and the addition of Houser, the Giants are shoring up their pitching staff.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 16, 2025

He isn’t going to blow opponents away with elite stuff, but Houser is a reliable, back-end of-the-rotation innings eater. Finding consistency will be key for him, alternating seasons of producing at least 0.9 bWAR and negative bWAR.

In 2025, he had a 3.3 bWAR between 11 starts with the Chicago White Sox and 10 starts with the Rays. Combined, he had a 3.31 ERA across 125 innings with a 3.81 FIP and 92 strikeouts.

Pitching at Steinbrenner Field with Tampa Bay was a drag on his production. Landing with San Francisco and calling pitcher-friendly Oracle Park his home field now should result in better production on the mound.

It will be interesting to see where the Rays go from here. They did reportedly agree to a two-year deal with veteran left-handed pitcher Steven Matz, who could slide right into the role vacated by Houser.

However, Tampa Bay has been linked to other veterans they know well. Zack Littell and Zach Eflin have both been connected to the Rays and have pitched with the franchise previously.

Tampa Bay could be in the market for more pitching, especially if they make a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks for Ketel Marte. Discussion between the two teams has included Shane Baz and Ryan Pepiot.